Review of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (HarperCollins, 2026)
Elon Musk is many things: entrepreneur, far-right troll, cautionary tale about the negative effects of completely lacking a good sense of humor. This mercurial figure is the main subject of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff. Both come well equipped for a deep dive into the life and thought of the tech entrepreneur. Slobodian is a professor of international history at Boston University and the author of a number of well-received books on the intellectual origins of neoliberal capitalism. Tarnoff has written extensively on the politics of the tech sector and the personalities who make up Silicon Valley.
That experience is clearly on display in their new book, which is confident and brisk without ever feeling hurried. Part critical biography, part political-economic analysis of the neoliberal era, it’s a well-written, sharp book that unpacks its “protagonist’s” chilling vision of the world in formidable detail.
But for all its strengths, Muskism’s account of the rise and influence of its protagonist is one squarely focused on ideology, obscuring the broader political and economic forces working behind the scenes. This makes the book enlightening but ultimately limited in its approach to understanding the pathologies of the present. It would benefit from situating Musk in the broader nest of institutions and practices that have allowed him to flourish and discussing his relationship to the broader right. Given all that, I found Muskism more suggestive than revelatory and was left feeling the definitive left-wing critique has yet to be written.
Musk as a figure lends himself to the kind of analysis favored by Slobodian and Tarnoff, which occupies a liminal space between biography and polemic. He has a pathological need for attention and endless capacity for self-dramatization. These traits were apparently present from…
Auteur: Matt McManus
